


I know a Monster who is scared of Love (and You, my darling, are Fearless)

by itsjustnoise



Series: The 'B' in Bloodlines stands for 'Burdens' [2]
Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE, TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:00:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26267641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsjustnoise/pseuds/itsjustnoise
Summary: Minnie knows prejudice, has lived with it for as long as she's had scales and fangs.She knows she doesn't deserve Miyeon, but when has that ever stopped her?
Relationships: Cho Miyeon/Minnie Nicha Yontararak, Hirai Momo/Minatozaki Sana, Jeon Soyeon/Song Yuqi, Seo Soojin/Yeh Shuhua
Series: The 'B' in Bloodlines stands for 'Burdens' [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899520
Comments: 8
Kudos: 107





	I know a Monster who is scared of Love (and You, my darling, are Fearless)

**Author's Note:**

> And what do you know, they're still wizards!  
> I hope you guys enjoy this word vomit, I really tried my best :')  
> Also school starts on Monday and I'm really NOT ready? Like at all?  
> But all the best to all those who are starting school , or are already a little ways into the trimester/semester.  
> Stay safe everybody!

When Minnie Nicha Yontararak wakes, it is to the soft pitter-patter of the raindrops that have fallen through the dense canopy above her and onto the leaf covered floor.

She hears the unceasing cacophony of the insects first, pitch rising and falling in the most melodious of ways, then the repeated whoops of the gibbons monkeys echoing back much, much later. It will rain again later today, Minnie thinks and slides her body out from under her brother's muscular tail, towards the light pouring in from the cave's entrance. She spots her mother's silhouette by the river a few rocks away and decides to head there, mindlessly batting away the mosquitos as she goes. "Good morning darling," her mother greets as soon as she is within earshot and Minnie smiles toothily, her fangs already grown out. "Morning ma." The older woman was waist deep in the clear water and Minnie waits patiently before her mother dives down and reappears with a fish in between her teeth. "Is that mine?" Minnie asks hopefully, young and forever hungry. At eleven years old, she still had a long way to go to maturity, and her never-ending appetite spoke for itself. Her mother smiles and tosses the fish to her, Minnie shooting up to catch it mid-air. Her sudden movement spooks the birds high up in the trees and they take off into the humid air, rain doing little to hamper their flight in the jungles of Thailand. Her mother catches a few more fishes, which Minnie collects in the basket by the water's edge before pulling herself out of the cold clear water. Minnie wonders when her scales will look as vibrant as her mother's, all a million hues of amber, garnet and cinnamon. Hers just looks like the ashy stones of the cliffside, all a pale and powdery grey. The fishes splash around in the basket and Minnie grins at her mother again when they head back to the cave, her stomach already grumbling for food.

She wakes her brothers with a slap across their faces with her tail, laughing brightly when they hiss and swat at her as she dances just out of their reach. "Minnie," her mother purses her lips and it is in that second of a pause when one of her brothers finally manages to jump on her and grabs her in a headlock, her other brother cheering them on. They wrestle like this for a while, twisting around the stone floor of their cave, around each other, as their mother prepares the food with an eye on the three of them. Until finally Minnie surrenders and her brothers laugh as she pouts at them. "Such a hatchling, Min," her brothers coo and she hisses at them with all the heat she can muster up from her stomach. But all that comes out is a puff of smoke and it sends her brothers into peals of husky laughter as they aim tiny fireballs at her, just hot enough for her to feel them without burning. She whines, forever the baby of the three of them, and her brothers chuckle, wrapping her up in a hug that smelt like musk and moss and damp wood. Their mother waves them away and three of them go back out into the open to find their father. Minnie hears the jungle just starting to wake up now, as the sun shone through the tiny cracks in the canopy. The birds were calling back and forth to each other, a hundred different sounds that Minnie drinks in with the desperation of a man who had just found water in the desert. The rain had long since stopped and Minnie watches Mic taste the air saturated with water vapour, and nods to himself when he couldn't find danger. They spot their father relaxing by the river and Minnie goes to him, feeling the creeping warmth of the sun seep through her scales and into her blood. It is safe here, Minnie thinks, I am home here.

A hornbill suddenly lands in the branches just above her head and cries, staring straight at Minnie with its large eyes.

She hears Mic slithering closer, ready to strike and Minnie desperately tries to shoo it away. But the hornbill stays and cries again and finally, Minnie spots the roll of paper tied to its leg. "NO!" she screams and Mic falls back in surprise, her father rearing up from where he had been lying on the rocks because loud sounds in the jungle always meant danger. "Min!" Her brother groans and rounds on her, displeasure flickering alongside his forked tongue. "Sorry, but that hornbill has a letter?" Minnie looks down at her hands and her father stretches a hand to the hornbill. It cries once more and drops the letter into his rough palm before flying away. Minnie watches her father read the paper through once, then again. He rubs at his eyes, looks at his only daughter, and scans through the paper again. By this time, Minnie could already hear her mother and Mac coming out of the cave. "What is it?" She hears her mother ask, watches her stop by her father's side. Her mother's eyes widen as she reads through the letter and stares at Minnie. "It's for you, darling. It's your acceptance letter to school." Hogwarts, she would later find out, was a school for wizards and the last naga in her family tree that went there was probably already 400 years old. "My little diamond." Her mother praised as her brothers whined about their acceptance letter and how they wanted to go to Hogwarts too. But her father remained silent and Minnie knew enough to know that he should not be disturbed. "Minnie," he calls and Minnie instantly goes to his side, her mother chasing her brothers away further down into the cave. "It will be a new experience for you and I know you will be exceptional among the rest. But, remember that we are not safe. You will have to hide your identity."

Her father scratches at the healing scar across his torso as he looks at her, Minnie knows he got it from a run in with a group of poachers a few weeks ago.

Humans did worship the nagas once upon a time, when the world was still peaceful and their rain-bringing powers and immortal fire were revered by those who needed a good harvest. But then the Great War happened and the nagas who sided with the Dark Lord became all the humans knew. And now, after the war, the humans hunted the remaining nagas down with the same ferocity that the snakes were so famously known for. Even now, she can still see how her father had been poisoned and bleeding horribly when he dragged himself back into their cave, only just escaping the poaches because they couldn't follow him through the underground rivers and waterways carved in stone. But it's not fair, Minnie thinks as she stares out into the dense jungle with tears streaming down her cheeks, she had fled when her father started screaming. The thick vegetation and animals hid her family away from the humans and it is the only life she knows that is safe for her to live. Not all nagas are evil, why do they want to get rid of us so badly? They think of us as animals to be hunted, our skins are like trophies to them, her mother had told her when she returned back, brushing the tear tracks away from her cheek with dry hands. The grey in her hair seemed to have increased overnight, Minnie had woken up once, in the early hours of the morning, to see her curled protectively over her father's sleeping body, facing the entrance of the cave with grim determination. They will not hurt my family again, Minnie had heard her murmur to her father’s still body as she changed his bandages, they are the real monsters.

They travel to platform 9 and three quarters together, her close-knit family of five and Minnie hugs all them goodbye with tears running down her face.

She finds an empty cabin and hunkers down, already missing the familiar weight of her tail. But just as Minnie resigns herself to eight lonely years in Hogwarts, the cabin door slides open and she locks eyes with the brightest pair she has ever seen. The girl smiles, cheeks conch shell pink and embarrassment written all over her face. "Sorry, is there anyone else sitting here?" Minnie shakes her head and watches with widening eyes as this tiny, frail girl drags her huge suitcase in behind her and nudges the door shut. Then she is panting as she slides her suitcase under the chairs and flops down opposite to where Minnie is curled up by the window. With the only other human Minnie has ever been in contact with screaming and tearing off into the dense undergrowth of her forest home, she isn't sure how she should behave with someone who didn't slither around on their belly along the forest floor. So she sits with her bottom lip firmly pressed to her front teeth, licking nervously at the fangs at the back of her mouth. She doesn't know how much time has passed, but Minnie counts four thousand, three hundred and fifty seven trees growing along the rails as the Hogwarts Express chugs through the countryside. "Hey," Minnie blinks and turns back to face the girl. "You're a first year too right?" Minnie nods. "Me too! What's your name?" This girl is really excitable, Minnie thinks to herself as she sits up straighter in her seat, ears itching. "Minnie Nicha Yontararak, what's your name?" The girl's mouth drops open into a small circle and Minnie can't help but find her to be the cutest thing she has ever seen. "I'm Cho Miyeon. But... Yontararak?" She stumbles over the unfamiliar syllables and Minnie feels a small smile at the corner of her lips. "I'm Thai." "Oh, I've never been to Thailand, what's it like there?" Minnie licks her fangs and smiles apologetically, her father's warning stark in her mind. "I'm not sure about the city actually. I grew up in a village in the jungle." "Oh!" Miyeon gasps, "that's even better. What's the jungle like then?" Minnie bites her lips, lying to someone like Miyeon not sitting well with her in the slightest. Anyway, it's not like she would know what I am from where I live, she reasons. "Well, there's always insects around. And it's always raining."

She loses track of the number of trees she has passed as they fall into an easy conversation. And by the time the train had slowed to a stop by Hogsmeade, Minnie had learnt that Miyeon was from Incheon, "a seaside town with the freshest sea breeze ever," and that she was the only child with the kindest parents. They had gifted her her own owl when they found out that she had been accepted into Hogwarts. Minnie meets Ramen as they haul their suitcases from the storage cabin of the train. The snow owl hoots at her and nips at her fingers when she accidently goes too close. She recoils with a snarl at the back of her throat that she only just manages to swallow back down. Miyeon frets about her bleeding wound and takes her hands in hers to bandage it up, staring for a second too long when she holds her fingers in a loose grip. Why, what's wrong, Minnie wants to ask but there's a shout for them to move forward and then they are all walking towards the lake around the castle, Minnie feels a spark in her bones as she nears the cool liquid. Miyeon climbs in behind her and settles by her side, grasping her arm as the boat rocks unsteadily. Minnie glances at her, finds sparkling black eyes like the stars overhead staring back at her hands and looks away. She soon forgets about the uncomfortable feeling in her gut when the boat lurches forwards and can't help but lean to the side and dip her hand into the water. "Minnie!" Miyeon harshly whispers and pulls her back, expression stricken. "What?" "You don't know what's in the water. It's not safe." Minnie wants to laugh, the water will always be her safest haven in this life. But she bites her tongue when Miyeon continues to frown at her and nods, leaning back into her side and holds on to the memory of the water slipping through her fingers.

The memory of the water drips away to the back of her mind, however, when she enters Hogwarts and sees sprawling stones and beautifully carved statues for the first time.

"They'll let us get sorted now." She hears a boy say behind her and turns around. "Sorted?" "Yeah, it's when they split us up into Houses." Minnie raises an eyebrow, not really understanding but Miyeon finds her hands under the clamour of first years and their bags and pets and holds on tight. "I hope we're in the same House." She hears and knows that it is not for her, and it's only because of her enhanced hearing that she does. So she nudges Miyeon, unable to explain the heavy feeling in her stomach. "What is he talking about?" Miyeon doesn't hear her at first, too busy trying to pull her suitcases and owl cage with one hand. Minnie reaches over and takes one of her suitcases, easily pulling it along due to her strength. Miyeon looks at her in surprise and Minnie repeats her question, only relaxing when Miyeon smiles again and launches into a long explanation of lions and snakes, badgers and ravens. The line of milling first years crawls forward at a snail's pace and Miyeon wonders aloud when it would be her turn, if she would starve to death before that happened. Minnie smiles and rolls her eyes at her dramatics and secretly hopes that she ends up in the same house as her new friend. Cho Miyeon gets called soon enough and Minnie watches the girl cross the platform slowly and sit down onto the chair. She remembers how she jumped when the Hat shouted, she hadn't thought it would talk. "HUFFLEPUFF!" And she keeps watching as Miyeon shoots a shaky smile at the table that cheered for her before stumbling to the yellow draped students and slipping between two girls. She catches Minnie's eyes before she sits down and Minnie prays the hardest she has ever done in her short life, that she really ends up in Hufflepuff as well. She gets her wish, bounding up to Miyeon and sitting down next to her. And when Miyeon sinks happily into her side, she feels a heat like her brothers' fire flood her palms. Later Minnie will find out that Miyeon is painfully shy and that she would much rather blend into the walls forever if she could. "But you asked for my name first?" Minnie would frown, confused and surprised as Miyeon scratches at her neck. "I don't know why I did that either to be very honest. But-" Minnie grins and interrupts her. "You don't regret it." And Miyeon beams right back, as warm and bright and yellow as the sunshine that shone through their common room window. "I don't regret it."

She and Miyeon become best friends, understanding each other better than anyone else ever could and Minnie falls just a little deeper every time Miyeon reaches for her hands under her cloak .

Contrary to what most people thought, they really began dating at the beginning of their fourth year. Minnie had been in the greenhouse, on her hands and knees hiding out on the damp soil and amongst the towering plants. She liked it here, where the humid air and almost claustrophobic conditions reminded her of the jungles back home. The only thing that was missing was the sound of the million species of singing birds and chattering monkeys and jeweled shelled beetles she shared her home with. But there were always some crickets chirping around and Minnie supposes that since she couldn't have everything, she should let some things slide. The plants liked her more than most anyway, moving their vines and branches so Minnie could fit herself into whatever space they created for her. They seemed to know that like them, Minnie was a creature far away from home. She tells them about the swampy wetlands with their rare patches of lotuses and water lilies, about the bamboo, palms and rattan forests that surround her cave and river and all the fruits she feasts on when they are in season. About the white water that she swims through everyday, sometimes cloudy with the mud and clay of the forest floor after a sudden torrential downpour and how it gets stuck in her hair and under her scales. The plants wave their leaves and sprout flowers for her after every story and Minnie collects every single one that falls. The professor liked her too, a curious student with a certain affinity for the most dangerous of plants and a genuine love for nature. She was more than happy to share the green space with Minnie and welcomed her into the greenhouse with open arms. It is here, sheltered and shrouded by leaves of a thousand different colours and sizes that Minnie allows her flames to gather in her palm and sends small rain clouds up to the top of the glass panels. The soft pitter-patter of the rain that fell around her calmed her down and quelled the homesickness somewhat, so for now Minnie would have to make do with the heat of her slowly growing flames to warm her heart. And live with the comforting joy that was synonymous with the girl she hears asking the professor where she was.

"She's somewhere in the west wing," she hears and moves, whispering her goodbyes and promises to visit again soon to the huge fern-like plant she was crouching behind. "Miyeon," she waves and watches the girl smile widely as she hurries over. "Minnie, have you asked your parents for permission to go to Hogsmeade?" And when Minnie shakes her head, her smile crumples. "Why?" "I don't think any owl I sent will be able to find them, we live really deep in the jungle." I don't want Mic or Mac to eat them, she thinks, remembering how big her brothers have grown since she last saw them. "Oh I know, you can take Ramen!" "What, no!" "Why not, he always delivers my letters." "What if he gets lost in the jungle." "He won't, he will always find his way." But Minnie shakes her head and Miyeon pesters her all the way to their common room, and as she taps away at the barrels to open the door. "Minnie, pleeeease," she whines but Minnie crosses her arms and resolutely keeps her gaze locked on the floor. She knows she won't be able to resist the shimmering black eyes of her best friend. And lately, she had been selfishly wishing that they could be something more. "C'mon, they said that it's also the day of the first snow. I really want to see it with you." And Minnie almost trips over the carpet, her heart clunking about noisily in her chest. "You still want to see the first snow with me?" Because she remembers, vividly, how in their second year Miyeon had dragged her out into the snow covered fields and spun to catch the falling snowflakes in outstretched hands. Minnie hates the snow, she always feels so cold. "I want to see the first snow, I always miss it." "That's because you are always still asleep," Minnie had scoffed, freezing to the bone, nose already a ruby red and running a hundred miles away from her. "My mom said that whoever you see the first snow with must be someone really important to you." Minnie hums. "That's how my parents met, did you know?" Minnie hums again. "I want to see the first snow with you." 

So she stares at Miyeon, sighs the longest, most drawn out sigh she has ever sighed and grabs a quill and her ink pot.

She ties the letter to Ramen's leg as the owl hoots at her icily, the years that she has known him only serving to somewhat mellow down his dislike for her. Miyeon doesn't know why her owl hates her so much, and she has tried time and time again to bridge the chasm between her two most important friends. But Minnie doesn't blame him, she thinks he knows how she eats his kind for breakfast, she has never met a smarter animal after all. "Good luck, Ramen," she wishes with a wry smile and when the owl spreads out his wings, Minnie feels the feathers brush across her face, his version of a slap, and watches as he flies off into the night. She waits till he becomes a black speck and then smaller and smaller, till he becomes nothing at all and brushes the fluff off her robes. Miyeon pushes herself off the wall when she turns back to her and they head back down to the Great Hall for dinner. Minnie feels how her hands snake down to find her own and meets her halfway. "You're always so cold." Miyeon says, out of nowhere, so very like her, but Minnie's breath still catches in her throat. They enter the school in silence and Minnie can hear the unsteady tremors in her exhale. "Oh," Minnie coughs after a while, nerves in her stomach like a thousand tiny glass shards, "Is that why you always hold my hand?" Miyeon just shrugs and squeezes her fingers once. "At first it was, but then it became a habit that I can't seem to get rid of." "I hope you don't." She blurts out without thinking and feels her cheeks heat up as Miyeon stops walking and shoots her an unreadable look. "Get rid of your habit, I mean." Minnie clears her throat for something to do, she doesn't need a mirror to know how her face was slowly flooding with colour. “It’s nice.” Her hand twitches and her cheeks feel uncomfortably hot now as a tiny smile appears on Miyeon's face. "Then I won't."

Ramen returns the very next day, white feathers only slightly ruffled but streaked with orange mud and brown dirt and nips at Minnie's fingers when she visits him in the Owlery alone with treats to say thank you. "Did one of my brothers try to eat you?" She grins and he whacks her over the head with his wings, hooting loudly and rapidly as he chases Minnie around with the other owls looking on. "Ow! I'll take that as a yes." Miyeon's smile is contagious, when she shows her the signed permission slip and Minnie mirrors her grin with one of her own. "I'm so glad you'll be able to come! There's so much I want to do!" She thrills and Minnie watches her from the comfort of her bed, expression fond and lips curled up into a contented smile. But she feels her fangs and remembers the other slip of paper that Ramen had brought back with him. Stay safe, it had read in black charcoal, remember my words. They head off to Hogsmeade with the other fourth years and Minnie pulls her scarf higher, covering her nose and mouth and neck. The air was bitingly cold but there were no traces of snow. "No traces of snow yet," Miyeon reminds her and Minnie nods along, shivering under her layers. As an afterthought, she tugs Miyeon closer to her, and adjusts her scarf as well. She pretends she doesn't see how the apples of Miyeon’s cheeks turn conch shell pink and stares at her blankly when Miyeon’s eyes curl up into the prettiest of eye smiles. They go to Honeydukes first and pick out sweets for each other. Minnie grabs chocolate frogs and sugar quills and coconut ice as Miyeon grins by her side, loading up the basket in her hands with cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties and a whole box of butterbeer fudge. And when Minnie adds a Blood Pop to the already overflowing basket, she laughs as Miyeon pretends to retch into her hands. Then they head off to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, where they spend more time looking then buying, since Minnie was a prefect and Miyeon generally didn't like pranks. But she spends a long time by the Pygmy Puffs cage, cooing and laughing as the tiny balls of fluff squeaked up at her. All Minnie could think of was how they looked like the mice she used to practice hunting on back home, and her stomach clenches. "Let's go get Butterbeer." Miyeon had said when they went back out into the cobblestone streets. Minnie was about to agree because she was starting to think that she could no longer feel her fingers when a snowflake lands on her nose. "Minnie!" Miyeon gasps and there is no time because Miyeon had found her hand and was dragging her forward to nowhere at all. They skid to a stop by a lamppost, there is surprisingly almost nobody around, and Miyeon stretches out her hands to the sky, an exact copy of when she was in her second year. Minnie feels all the love she has for her well up in her throat, her eyes start to water. But then another snowflake brushes past her lashes and she shoves it away. Down, down, down to the depths of her heart. "Congratulations, you've seen the first snow." Minnie drawls, tearing her gaze away to focus on something in the distance, rubbing her hands together for some semblance of warmth. "Can we go in now?" But Miyeon was staring at her with a fire blazing sky high in her eyes and Minnie finds that ever since she has turned back to her, she cannot look away. She doesn't think she wants to, anyway. "Will you be my girlfriend?" She hears and has to clasp her hands together because she feels her flames rushing through her bloodstream, and she would rather not have to explain why her gloves were suddenly on fire. "Huh?" "Minnie!" She doesn't know if Miyeon's cheeks were red from the cold or not but when she stomps her feet and opens her mouth to ask the question again, Minnie leans forwards and kisses her.

It is also in her fourth year that she meets Seo Soojin, Jeon Soyeon, Song Yuqi and Yeh Shuhua.

And it's been Minnie and Miyeon, Miyeon and Minnie for so long, that at first, Minnie's a little thrown off by the new additions into her life. Soojin's quiet, even more than Miyeon is when she's around unfamiliar faces and Soyeon is the one who tells her about her family name and the implications that came with them. "But she's not like that all!" Minnie feels her fangs dig into her gums with the injustice of the entire situation, because she knows exactly how it feels to be mistaken for something you’re not. "I know. Trust me, I know." Soyeon was her complete opposite, a true Gryffindor who charged full steam ahead towards everything she did with absolutely no regards of the dangers that came with it. Minnie herself has caught her sneaking around after curfew one too many times. But she's glad that Soojin had her as a best friend because she could think of no better protector for the misunderstood girl. She has only gotten to know both Shuhua and Yuqi recently but already knew that Shuhua could probably give Soyeon a run for her money in terms of stubborness. And it was amusing how she showered Soojin with such unconditional love as well, with how uncomfortable Soojin seemed to be with it most of the time. "She deserves it," Minnie whispers to Miyeon as she sees how Shuhua hangs onto Soojin's arm as they enter the Great Hall side by side and Miyeon nods. Yuqi was every bit as loud as her cousin was, Minnie's ears ring whenever she yells and shrieks when they are all together. But she was loyal and was also always there to pick Shuhua up whenever she fell, despite laughing the loudest and teasing her the most. Minnie sees Mic and Mac and herself as she watches the two cousins interact and imagines her brothers by her side. She misses her family terribly, even if her brothers still babied her whenever she went home for the holidays. But Miyeon is always there, always a constant, and she doesn't think she could be whole if Miyeon were to suddenly disappear. It is this that reminds Minnie not to tell her biggest secret to any of her friends, she still hears her father's voice everytime she wants to. The cool black water of the lake practically sings to her and it pains Minnie to ignore its call. It was the closest thing she had to a reminder of her home.

By some ironic twist of fate, they learn about Nagas in the very next lesson of Care of Magical Creatures.

Her professor sketches an almost perfect anatomical drawing of a female Naga's anatomy and proudly announces that they had found her dead body floating in the swamps of Myanmar and he had been part of the team that dissected her after the war. Minnie tries her hardest to keep her lunch in, swallows back the bile she feels rising in her throat and reminds herself repeatedly that she cannot cry here. She tells herself that she might have been a supporter of the Dark Lord and not an innocent naga just trying to find food for her family before falling prey to the poison baits the farmers tend to set out along the river to kill the pythons and anacondas that roamed the waterways. Something knocks into her hand and Minnie wonders a beat too late if she had accidentally knocked something over. But it's just Miyeon, who is looking at her with the most worried expression, concern flooding her usually sparkling eyes. She doesn't have to open her mouth, Minnie can hear 'what's wrong?' and 'are you alright?' whispered loud and clear in the silence. She blinks, takes a deep breath and shoots her a tiny reassuring smile. It seems to work, because Miyeon smiles back and turns back to the blackboard and Minnie closes her eyes. There's a migraine starting to build at the back of her eyeballs, her stomach feels like it's trying to flip inside out. She desperately wants to skip her next class but remembers that it's Divination and Miyeon always zones out in the haze of the smoke that their professor loved to fill the classroom with before classes started every time. Minnie hated it, it made her throat feel like sandpaper. But Miyeon needed her by her side to pay attention there, so she takes another breath and finds Miyeon's fingers under the desk. If Miyeon wonders why she was suddenly holding her hand, she doesn't ask, just finds Minnie's fingers and squeezes back.

The professor was still talking, his voice callous and full of expected animosity, saying something about how the nagas during the Great War had been bloodthirsty and brual and how he had seen first hand, the extent of destruction their flames could cause to innocent villages, the devastation they trailed behind them when they caused the sky to split apart and flood the countryside. “They are ruthless,” he shook his head and pointed to the fangs lining the mouth of the drawing. “They only know how to kill us and each other.” The hand that wasn't holding Miyeon’s starts shaking again and Minnie feels her fire course through her veins with only one thought in her mind, she needs to get out. Out, out, out, she hears a chant start up in her head, her migraine getting worse and worse as she tries her best to tamp down the flames singing in her veins. “You cannot put out their flames with water, they were known to burn their victims alive for fun, crazy bastards.” And the dam breaks, Minnie just remembers to let go of Miyeon’s hand before she feels her palms burn with the force of her bottled-up pain and anger. She is fortunate to have been sitting at the back to the class, so her flames go relatively unnoticed. But it causes a big enough commotion, her ink bottle falls off the table and crashes to the floor, the side of her chair charred and smoking from where she knows her flames have shot out. Everyone turns back to look at her and Minnie swears her heart stops when she sees so much terror in Miyeon’s eyes, she doesn't know what else to do. I almost burned Miyeon, Minnie hears a voice whisper in her head, dread settling in her gut like lead and silver and iron, I’m a monster. “I’m not feeling too well, professor. May I be excused?” She just manages to force out through gritted teeth and she doesn't dare stay for the aftermath, just dashes from the classroom with only one destination in her mind.

It is Soojin who wordlessly joins her behind her curtain of vines in the greenhouse, and for once, Minnie is thankful it’s not Miyeon.

At first, she doesn't say anything, they just sit knee to knee in the relative quiet of Minnie’s safe haven, and even the crickets are silent for once. “I don't know what happened,” Soojin finally begins quietly. “But Miyeon eonnie was almost close to tears when I saw her.” And Minnie’s heart feels like it’s being crushed under the immense pressure in her chest. “I almost hurt her, maybe I did. I don't know. Soojin, my head hurts.” She hears Soojin breathe out through the buzzing in her ears, tries to ground herself with the steady thumps of her heartbeats. It was not Miyeon’s, but it would have to do. “She’s fine.” Soojin says, voice careful as she plays with a leaf that had fallen into her lap, “she’s more worried about you.” The metals in her stomach seem to grow heavier and Minnie feels all the hatred she has ever buried in the back of her mind about herself flooding her body, she just wants to curl up in the corner and hide. “I still don't know what happened,” Soojin’s voice is soft now, like she was trying not to scare her away, “but I do know that running away is something nobody should be doing,” Her mouth twists like she had just eaten something sour and Minnie turns to look at her because her voice cracks when she continues. “But sometimes it’s better to bite the bullet you know, you never know when you’ll miss your chance.” “Live everyday like it’s your last?” “Yeah, live everyday like it's your last,” Soojin says under her breath but Minnie thinks that she sounds more like she’s trying to convince herself. “And Minnie eonnie?” “Huh?” Soojin taps lightly on the vines in front of her and they part without a sound. “She’ll forgive you, she always does.”

Minnie hesitates in front of her room’s door, tugging at the sleeve of her cloak as she breathes in, out, in, out.

She shares the room with Miyeon and knows that the other girl is already inside, smelling her familiar flowery scent as soon as she started down the stairs. It is way past dinner time, her stomach growls but she just can't summon up the energy to go find food. One last breath and she pushes open the door. The curtains to Miyeon’s bed are drawn, but Minnie’s attention goes straight to the plate of roasted meats and vegetables on her bed. Her stomach rumbles, blaringly loud and she is once again reminded that she had skipped dinner and was starving. The curtains around Miyeon’s bed shifts and Minnie stands stiffly, back pressed to the door as Miyeon pulls the velvet cloth apart and stares at her. There is a small crease in between Miyeon’s eyebrows and Minnie hates that expression because it means that Miyeon is disappointed. “Hi,” she says timidly, and knows that if her body would allow it, her tail would be between her legs. Miyeon raises her eyebrows and Minnie gulps, staring back down at her feet and wishing Miyeon would stop looking at her like that, with so much emotion swirling in her eyes. “I got you dinner,” she says, and it’s clipped and short and Minnie really wants to cry. “Thanks,” she says instead and inches to her bed, picking up the plate gingerly, careful not to spill anything because she sees how it was almost overflowing with basil chicken and fried pork patties. Her stomach grumbles again and Minnie sucks back the saliva pooling at the corner of her mouth. “Thanks,” she mutters again and digs in, inhaling the food like a starving man. She’s halfway through the chicken when she realises that she is crying. And Miyeon is suddenly there, taking the plate from her hands and pulling her into her arms. She hushes her gently, hums a song Minnie has never heard before and strokes her head as she sobs into her shoulder. "I'm sorry," she hiccups when the tears finally start to dry, "I didn't mean to scare you." "You didn't scare me," Miyeon says and Minnie shakes her head. I saw the fear in your eyes, please don't lie to me, she wants so badly to say but it lodges itself in her throat and Minnie finds that she can't breathe past it. So she just grips Miyeon's shirt tighter in pale fingers and tries not to imagine Miyeon's answer if she does manage to find the courage to speak past the lump in her windpipe. "You surprised me, that's all. And there was suddenly fire too, I really didn't know what to think." Minnie whimpers and Miyeon immediately understands. "I know you don't want to talk about it. And I won't push, so don't cry anymore, okay?" Okay, Minnie thinks, okay, I'll stop crying. She finds Miyeon's fingers and when Miyeon holds her hands in hers tightly, so sure, so full of trust that she doesn't deserve, Minnie feels her heart start to splinter in her chest.

Quidditch refreshes her, she loves performing a perfect maneuver high up in the air with her teammates by her side, loves hearing the cheers from a successfully scored goal even more. 

And since the season was starting, she wanted to get some extra practice in. Within the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, there was only one other player that could keep up with her endless energy and that's who Minnie finds and shakes awake from her nap in their common room. She grumbles as Minnie drags her off to the pitch but by the time they have reached the muddy grass field, Momo was looking decidedly more awake. Minnie kicks off the ground and tries to score, frowning when their Keeper intercepts the quaffle almost instantly. "You're too good!" she cries when Momo flies up to her with the red ball in her hands and a smirk flitting across her lips. "Try harder," she teases before flying back to the posts. Hirai Momo was a werewolf, the only one in the entire school and she was not ashamed of it at all. She even joked about it once in their locker room, saying it's probably because of the 'rabid mutt’ in her that helped with her skills as a Keeper, and how she could never not catch a ball. Minnie could never understand how she did it but she wishes she had even half the fearlessness that seemed to surge through Momo's veins. Momo herself was the one who told her the story of how she was turned and it is only then that Minnie just begins to quantify the extent of bravery the girl in front of her possessed. She had been with Sana, her best friend for as long as she can remember, both of them only 12 then, and was picking moonshine for a potion that Momo had long forgotten the name of. And since moonshine only bloomed during a full moon, it had made sense that they would have ran into a werewolf then. He was a rogue, a forgotten pawn from the war that had been cast aside when the Dark Lord’s army began falling. And Momo had laughed and said she didn't remember much, only a searing pain in her shoulder where the wolf bit her as she pushed Sana out of the way and how she felt like dying because everything just hurt so bad. She thinks Sana's scream must have alerted the others but when she awoke in the Minatozaki's mansion, with Sana sleeping by her bedside, safe and unharmed, she had never felt more alive. She wore her scars like a batch of honour but always hid it whenever Sana was around. Minnie understands why, her father hid his scars from her mother too. 

Minnie has heard stories about the Minatozakis, it was kind of hard not to with her sharper than normal hearing and asks Momo if Sana was anything like the people said. "Absolutely not," she had growled and Minnie sees the werewolf usually hidden behind cheerful smiles and round eyes appear within the span of a blink. "She's nothing like her family, she's the kindest person I've ever met." Minnie raises both her hands because she never meant any harm and Momo calms down. But her eyes are wild when she says, "did you know, she's the one who brews Wolfsbane for me every full moon?" And Minnie shakes her head, respect for the Slytherin and Hufflepuff before her increasing by the second. Wolfsbane was notoriously difficult to create and if Sana had been making it regularly for as long as she did, she must be as good as her namesake. But, Momo sighs, she had given the wrong potion to her once, and instead of the weakened werewolf she was expecting, Sana had been faced with a snarling beast who had cornered her with claws and teeth barred. "But you know what she did?" "What?" "She just slapped me across the snout and told me to get a grip." Minnie bursts into laughter as Momo pouts into her water bottle, exactly unlike the ravenous beast she was known to be. "My God, she's fearless. I would have screamed." Momo grins weakly. "And I wouldn't blame you. But she said she knew I would never hurt her and she was right." Minnie shakes her head and turns back to her hands. "She knows me better than I know myself, sometimes. And I trust her with my entire being, just like she trusts me with hers.” Momo fiddles with a plain copper band around her ring finger as she says this, Minnie vaguely recalls seeing its twin flashing green in the light of the dungeon torches during her patrols with a certain Slytherin prefect. “You know what I mean?" Minnie thinks back to pink conch shell cheeks and warm hands. "I know what you mean." She says and she means it from the bottom of her heart.

But then Momo says, "but Minnie, don't you drink a potion too?" And fuck, her world spins. Of course Momo would know she wasn't human, Minnie laments in her mind, it was hard to get anything past a nose that sensitive. But she had asked her question almost nonchalantly after finishing her story, and Minnie was so taken aback, she almost forgot how to breathe. "I know you're not fully human," Momo had smiled gently, before her eyebrows scrunched up into her fringe. "But I just can't figure out what you are." Keep your identity a secret, her father had told her. I just want you to be safe, she knows he really means. But Momo was not human too, and somehow, she trusts her more than anyone else. Even more than Miyeon because we are kindred spirits, Minnie thinks with a bitter laugh, the world will never truly accept us because we're not what they are. But Momo sneezes and Minnie is reminded of the situation at hand and silences her father's voice in her head, the first time since she left the jungles of Thailand. "I'm a Naga." She mumbles and feels the weight of a lifelong burden slip off her shoulders, she draws in a breath and feels her heart beat just as strongly as it always did in her chest. Momo blinks at her and for a whole terrifying heartbeat, Minnie's stomach swoops to her feet, did I make a mistake? But then she was grinning so broadly and pulling Minnie up from the ground where they sat and towards the lake and it's cool black water. "C'mon," she practically howls and not matter how uneven the ground begins to get, Momo doesn't let go of her hands, "I know a spot by the water where nobody goes to, it's hidden by the rocks." And as Minnie stumbles along behind the older Hufflepuff girl, she feels the thankfulness pricking at the corner of her eyes and a tear slips down her cheeks.

Amongst her new friends, Minnie truthfully never expected any of them to find out her secret.

But if any of them were able to see through her carefully constructed net of white lies, it would have to be Yuqi. The Ravenclaw was incredibly sharp and her mind could work at a mile a minute when she was focussed on something. Minnie had never seen someone so suddenly invested into Quidditch, a sport she had shown zero interest in before, when Soyeon had shyly invited her to watch the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match on the coming Sunday. "Whipped," she had heard Soojin mutter almost silently under her breath and coughed when Soyeon smiled so dopily, she couldn't stop the teasing glint in her eyes as the Slytherin rolled her eyes at her best friend. And Yuqi had thrown herself into all the books about Quidditch she could find in the library, asking Minnie, because she was one Hufflepuff's Chasers, and Miyeon, because she never went anywhere without Minnie, to accompany her as she ploughed through book after book about the wizarding sport. It would have been both hilarious and adorable, if Yuqi hadn't cornered her in the greenhouse after the match to confront her about her secret. In hindsight, it was probably because they spent so much time together that Yuqi was able to piece together her habits that gave her away. She hears her first before she sees her, Yuqi always had a habit of stomping about loudly whenever she was in a rush. "I know what you are," she had burst out as soon as she had pushed the leaves Minnie was hiding behind away. And Minnie's first reaction was to bolt but then a fruit drops onto Yuqi's head and as she whines and apologises to the tree, Minnie feels her heart settle back down in her chest. "Yes, I'm a vampire. I sparkle in the sun," she deadpans and pushes herself up from the ground, a quiet goodbye murmured into the tree's trunk. There is a rustle as the tree shakes its leaves and a flower floats down onto Minnie's shoulder. "Thank you," she smiles and pockets the bloom, it smells like lemongrass and teak.

"Minnie," Yuqi groans from behind her, and Minnie fixes her with a steady gaze, and feels her heartbeat pick up again. "What?" "You're not a vampire and they don't sparkle in the sun." Minnie bites her lips. "Yeah, I know." "You're a naga, right?" Minnie curses under her breath as Yuqi pulls her glasses off to polish them on her robes. She always did that when she knew she was right. And she was. "How did you know?" Minnie watches as Yuqi straightens and flashes her a lopsided grin, she thinks that the Ravenclaw has been spending too much time with Soyeon since she was picking up on her signature expression. “You’re always freezing, no matter how hot it gets outside. When it’s cold you seem almost listless, like you would rather sleep the winter away. And your appetite for meat, I always thought that Shuhua could eat a ton but you would beat her a hundred times over.” Minnie licks at her fangs and Yuqi’s eyes light up, gaze bright and sure. “And you’re licking your fangs now aren't you? I know that you have them at the back of your mouth when you are in human form.” Minnie has never felt more bare in her life, because in a few sentences, this human girl had wrecked her carefully built walls cemented high with tight lipped smiles. “You’re good,” she says, trying her hardest to keep her expression neutral. “Even Miyeon doesn't know.” Yuqi’s big eyes widen even more so, and it would be comical, but Minnie’s guts seem to be twisting into themselves, her fingers and toes fizzing with electricity. “Miyeon doesn’t-” “No.” It comes out more harshly than she intends it to be, and Minnie presses her nails into her palms when Yuqi’s shoulders tense up. “No,” she breathes out, “she doesn't know. You’re the first of the lot, actually.” “But you guys are dating, right?” And guilt gnaws away at Minnie’s stomach now, she feels like throwing up. Still, she nods and sees how Yuqi’s eyes change, surprise, confusion and then understanding, flashing by in the quickest of blinks. “Oh, I see.” Yuqi says. Then, “I understand if you'd want to keep this a secret.” Minnie holds a breath in her lungs, counts to five, then exhales. She’s still a monster, still sees Miyeon’s terror filled eyes in her mind despite what Momo had said, and she’ll take this secret down to the grave with her if she could.

Minnie thinks that Incheon was everything her jungle paradise wasn't, with cool, fresh winds and a permanent salty tang that coated her tongue whenever she opened her mouth to breathe.

Miyeon had asked her after they were finished with their final exams, with flushed cheeks and a shy grin that Minnie had kissed into bubbly giggles, if she wanted to come to Incheon with her for the holidays. Minnie’s heart had swelled to almost five times its size in her chest and she had nodded so fast, Miyeon had to grab her head because what if your neck broke Minnie, calm down! They fly to Korea, after Minnie sends a letter to her family back in Thailand (Ramen whacks her over the head again before he leaves and Minnie can’t help but laugh even as her eyes water up in pain) and when she finally has both her feet firmly planted on dry land again, Minnie can't help but heave a sigh of relief. “What’s wrong? The skies aren't for you?” Miyeon teases her and Minnie can only smile shakily. She thinks that she has already been blessed with an affinity for water and the earth, and that she really shouldn't be pushing her luck and wishing for anything else. She holds Miyeon’s hand as they board the bus that would take them from the airport and to Miyeon’s neighbourhood, nervous for a reason she wouldn't say. But Miyeon knows her well and kisses her fingers one by one at the back of the bus. “You’ll be fine, Minnie. My parents are nice people.” And Miyeon's parents are just as kind as she said they were and Minnie finds herself laughing comfortably with them within 3 hours of arriving at Miyeon's home. They welcome her with soft laughter and Minnie finds out where Miyeon had learnt her smile from, she looks exactly like her mother when she grins. “Do you want to go to the beach with me?” Miyeon asks her later that evening, after they had enjoyed an extremely scrumptious dinner that Miyeon’s mother had cooked up for their guest. She had heard Miyeon's parents talking about her in the kitchen. “She’s so polite and pretty, I’m happy Miyeon found someone like her.” Her dad had grunted and Minnie tries not to smile too wide as she curls closer to Miyeon on their couch. “This late? Is it safe?” Miyeon nods. “There's almost nobody there and we won’t go too far out.” And Miyeon was right, there was nobody on the white expanse of sand that they leave their footprints on as they raced into the water. But they didn't account for those beneath the waves.

She hears the mermaids too late, and can only watch with mounting horror as Miyeon is sucked under the oncoming wave.

Minnie plunges below the swirling water and spots them with the little moonlight that manages to reach the ocean’s floor, her eyes adjusting to the distortion of the water almost instantly. She is home here, the water gives her as much strength as she needs and she takes it all in, the heat in her belly shooting through her system, threatening to erupt. Her eyes flash crimson, and she feels the fire shred through the last vestiges of her human skin. She sees Miyeon's mouth open in a muffled scream. No, she wants to scream back as her air bubbles float past her and burst at the surface, don't be scared of me. But Miyeon cannot hear her when her ears are filled with salt and water and Minnie shoots down, down, down, snarl building up from the bottom of her throat, heartbeat thundering like a herd of stampeding elephants tearing through the trees and vines and rivers. The mermaids screech when they see her, dragging Miyeon further down into the dark water and for a sharp, heart stopping second, Minnie thinks that she's too late. But she reaches Miyeon's hand and yanks her back, her other palm filling with purple fire she hurls at the mermaids. Her flames hit some of them, and Minnie relishes in the brutal delight that she has hurt them, because they've hurt Miyeon. They scramble, clicking and screeching in mindless panic as they flee from the furious naga and all her searing anger. Minnie holds Miyeon close, feels her stomach plummet when she realised that her eyes have slipped shut and ignores the voice telling her to give chase, to burn all of them to ashes. “No, no Miyeon, don’t,” she pleads to anyone who would hear her as she swims back up towards the light. She cannot go back to the beach like this, she would be shot on sight if anyone saw her. But she remembers seeing the rocks and the cliffs as she had been bobbing about in the waves and decides to head there.

Fear. That's all Minnie feels when she smashes through the surface of the water, Miyeon wrapped securely in her arms.

It was a sea cave, Minnie places Miyeon softly on the stone floor and pulls herself up onto the rocks as Miyeon coughs up the harsh sea water from her lungs. She had grown since that day in her jungle home, her scales were now a shade of the darkest amethyst, almost obsidian, and she watched how Miyeon stared at her with as much shock as her weakened body would allow her to. Hide yourself, her father had said, but Minnie couldn't bring herself to care. She slithers forward, apprehension in her gaze and her heart beating so fast, she was sure it would explode out of her chest. Time seems to still as she locks eyes with the one person whom she would rather die than live without and she searches hard for the alarm and panic she’s sure to find in Miyeon’s eyes but comes up empty. The spell breaks when Miyeon's arm lifts and Minnie takes her hand without a second thought. "Forever the scaredy cat, aren't you?" She murmurs down into saltwater slicked hair as Miyeon presses her forehead into the smooth pale scales of her underbelly and sucks the damp air into her lungs. "Sorry," she manages to rasp out, her insides torn apart from the ocean she inhaled, "didn't mean to... worry you." But the cold arms around her flare to life and Minnie hugs her as close as she dares to as a monster, trying to be as gentle as she can. She had been raised to be tough because that was what she needed to be to survive. But Miyeon, that frail little girl she met in the cabin then, was still so fragile even now, just like the conch shells she could crush in her hands without batting an eyelid and Minnie knows that she would willingly drown herself over and over again if she ever hurt her. Miyeon seemed to have fallen asleep, her chest rising and falling in tandem to the waves around them lapping at the stones. We should be safe here, Minnie thinks, flicks out a tongue to check the air just in case, it'll be hard to go through these rocks. So she stays, long body curled around Miyeon protectively like her mother had done for her father when she was child and hopes Miyeon can feel her warmth in her sleep.

She opens her eyes to a soft humming of a now familiar song, a gentle hand carding through her long, black hair and surrounded by the scent of flowers and comforting joy. Miyeon smiles when she blinks the sleep away from her eyes and snuggles in closer. Since Minnie is still halfway between sleep and wakefulness, and cannot be held accountable for anything that slips out of her mouth, she tilts her head and says,"I'm a naga." Miyeon giggles and nods. "Yes, I can see that." "You're not scared?" "Should I be?" Yes, Minnie wants to say as clarity sets in, am I not a monster to you? But she doesn't and shifts her gaze away instead, pushing all the words she wanted to say back down her throat. "Minnie," Miyeon taps on her cheekbones and her eyes snap back to hers, "you could only save me because you were a naga. I'd be ripped apart at the bottom of the ocean if you didn't-" Minnie flinches. "No. Don't say that." She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, Miyeon sees how badly her lips tremble. "Please." Miyeon's gaze softens and she pulls herself up and tries her best to pour all the love she has for Minnie into that one kiss. And when she pulls away, she finds Minnie's shaking hands and squeezes one, two, three times. "And you call me the scaredy cat," she laughs as Minnie drops her head into her shoulder because Miyeon's okay, I saved her, she's here. "You saved me, Minnie. And I'll never be scared of you." Miyeon repeats and Minnie believes her this time. "But really, would you not have screamed if your girlfriend suddenly explodes into fire and changes into a huge snake?" And it's so sudden, Minnie can't stop the startled laugh from jumping out of her throat, it’s like that tree frog she was chasing in the jungle. "Your girlfriend is sorry for not telling you that she is a huge snake. Would you forgive her?" Miyeon pulls her down and presses another kiss to the corner of Minnie's lips, she feels her breath fan over her fangs. "Depends if my girlfriend has any more secrets she would like to hide from me." Minnie shakes her head, eyes wide like a lost puppy and really, Miyeon was never really mad. "Then let's go back home."

When Minnie Nicha Yontararak woke, it used to be to the soft pitter-patter of the raindrops that had fallen through the dense canopy above her and onto the leaf covered floor. 

But now, she wakes to a soft kiss on her nose and smooth, warm hands that find hers to hold under the sheets. She might be a monster, but Miyeon loved her anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> At first, I wanted to write Minnie as a werewolf. But then I realised that there was a whole bunch of southeast Asian mythological creatures that I grew up listening to my grandpa tell me stories about and I was like, hello? Your inspiration is right here? So I hope you enjoyed Naga Minnie, they are a popular myth in Thailand so that's why I went with it.


End file.
